The famous comic writer Tom King has never shied away from the political moment. Telling gentle and haunting tales of immortal gods, Amazon princesses, and masked vigilantes, King powerfully explored the anxiety, paranoia, misogyny, and absurdity that defined America in the age of Trumpism.

King, known for successful comics such as “vision“, “Mr. Miracle“, “Rorschach“, and “Supergirl: The Woman of Tomorrow,” knows the stakes better than most.

Before shooting at the writing of the comic celebrity “Batman” in 2016, King spent seven years in the CIA as a counterterrorism operations officer, including a stint in Baghdad in 2004. The experience served as the inspiration for his masterful and murky 2015 thriller, “Sheriff of Babylon.”

While Eisner Award the award-winning author has never been shy about sharing his political concerns, including in 2019 when he tweeted his suspicions that Trump could be a foreign assethis must-read strips are far from political diatribes. Like all classic comics, they glimpse the truths of our time through the struggles of the superheroes we like to think we could be.

King, 46, who lives in Washington DC with his wife and three children, will be appearing at Brave New Worlds Comic Strip in Old City on Election Day for a vote celebration. The author will be signing books and giving away free copies of his books to customers who present a “I Voted” sticker. We recently spoke with King in Hollywood, where he is currently co-writing and executive producing the upcoming HBO series, “Flashlights.” The author talked about the hope inherent in comics and how Philly has the power to change the world.

This conversation has been edited for clarity and length.

Make Philly an Election Day tradition!

King: Yes, we did a similar event at Fat Jack’s four years ago where we just celebrated Philly’s vote in the election. You’re just doing the best you can – and one of the few things I can do is thank the voters by giving them what I can give them: my time and signage. Pennsylvania is where the rubber meets the road.

You just made it to the top of the comic book industry when Trump came to power.

King: I spent 20 years in the CIA doing counter-terrorism work overseas, so I’m not uninvolved in government and how it operates. And I live blocks from the US Capitol. The Supreme Court is literally my neighbors. I remember walking my dog ​​right before the inauguration (2017), and this is one of these silly little details that has been lost to history, but they had a bunch of potties and the potty company was called “Don’s Johns.” And I think the president-elect got upset about that, so he had people use a sharpie marker and cut “Don’s Johns” out of all these porta-potties. Literally, the guy censored porta-potties in my neighborhood. I remember walking by and thinking, “Oh, this is going to be bad.”

King: The atmosphere right now is so bifurcated and personal that you can’t help but step on that rail. Even Shakespeare, man. Look at “Macbeth”. Talk about the fact that they just got a Scottish king. You have to write for your moment. This is what it means to be a writer and to be alive. So to try to ignore that to go for a bigger base to make more money seems wrong to me.

What is the balance between politics and a good superhero story?

King: You never want your comics to be your Twitter feed. You never want to lecture someone and say, “This is bad, this is good, the world is black and white.” That alone does not make for good stories. This is not a lecture. It’s just about writing the truth.

Writing superhero stories in the age of Trump seems almost like a political act in itself.

King: In a superhero context, it doesn’t work. Lex Luthor is evil, but he’s also super smart. This is not Trump. No offense to the guy, but he’s no Lex. He is not Doctor Doom. He is nothing like a superhero villain. Its appeal is something else, something new, something shocking.

Comics seem so resonant now. They have always been such a powerful art form for political thought.

King: It is aspirational. Like I don’t think Wonder Woman is very political. Someone is terrible to women, so Wonder Woman should fight back. This does not seem like a political attitude to me. That doesn’t sound left or right to me. He just looks American.

Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman are not inherently political. They are inherently hopeful. All three characters were created in the shadow of the Nazi Party, two of them specifically by Jewish creators (Batman and Superman). So their origins are anti-fascist. The earliest Superman comic before entering World War II had Superman going overseas and capturing Hitler, Mussolini, and Tojo. That’s baked into the pie. But it is not political to be anti-Nazi. We all agreed on these ideals.

The comic book audience has become much more diverse in recent years, from indie readers to die-hard Punisher fans. It’s a big tent.

King: If I were to say the random comic book reader, there is something in the world that alienates them. There is something about which they feel a little out of touch – a little rebellious. They feel a bit of otherness. That crosses all political lines. That’s what I love about comics. It is aimed at children and adults who feel a little disconnected from the current.

What is at stake?

King: It’s all on the line, man.

But honestly, you read Superman because you want to be like Superman. You read Batman because you want to be like Batman. Because they are special. They are important. They do not accept the world as it is. They are trying to change it. And I feel like the voters of Pennsylvania now have an opportunity to be like Batman, to be like Superman, like they don’t get to do every day of their lives. If Batman and Superman were alive today, they wouldn’t be able to stop what’s coming. But a Pennsylvania voter can, and that’s pretty cool.

And if you vote for Trump and want to come get a comic, you’re welcome. It’s a celebration of democracy and the fact that Philly has a chance to change the world.

Tom King will appear at Brave New Worlds on Tuesday, November 5th from 12pm to 3pm. 55 N. 2nd Street Philadelphia, Pa.